Stupidest crimes of 2009

Readers of one Polish website dedicated to police affairs have drawn up a list of the most ridiculous felonies of 2009, RIA Novosti reports.

In July in the city of Gdynia, a 26-year-old man attempted to steal a registration plaque from a car. The thief was so drunk that he failed to realize that not only was it a police car, but that there were also officers inside it.

In April, Warsaw police detained a man who had stolen a toilet roll from a restaurant, breaking a holder worth $120. According to Polish law, the thief could face up to ten years in prison.

Another stupid crime was committed in Lublin Voivodeship in March. Two young men stole 6,000 zloty (approximately $2,500) from the fund of a housing cooperative. They put the money into a plastic bag, but the bank note packs were so heavy that it ruptured. The criminals threw away the bag filled with money, taking only 300 zlotys. Police quickly tracked down the men as one of them put his home address on the bag.

Finally, a 55-year-old man facing a prison sentence attempted to hide from the authorities. The police were informed that he was living in a trailer in the suburbs of Minsk-Mazovetsky. When the cops turned up they saw a group of men drinking vodka at an improvised “table”, which in fact turned out to be the very man they were looking for.